Return
by sugarbab3luv
Summary: After everything...all the things they've been through to bring him back...he returns. While Sakura wonders about the two companions of his, Sasuke contemplates on what to do with his replacement. Dispose of him, of course. SasuSaku R&R Please!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! This is sugarbab3luv! **

**This here is my first Naruto fanfic. As you can probably tell, I am a fan of SasuSaku, so deal with it! **

**Anyways, this is a sort of continuation of the shippuuden manga, but a bit more into the future, where itachi is dead (sorry itachi fans). Basically, I wrote this b/c I am sick of the fanfics that have Sasuke return in a dumb way, or his personality is way off. I am NOT saying that I can pull it off, but I'm at least going to make an attempt. **

**So without further notice...Enjoy the Story!!

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What now?

He had never taken the time to consider what will happen after. His purpose was now complete. Was his existence now unnecessary?

His lips gave a small twitch. It seemed everyone had an issue on that matter.

His eyes narrowed slightly at the rush of memories. Even if he were to return, nothing would ever be the same. And what pissed him off was that they couldn't see that. What did they think would happen if they managed to bring him back? Return to their childish plays?

Flicking his gaze down the dark road, he lazily swayed up from his haunches.

"So what's the plan?"

He spared a glance at the woman, her dark-rimmed lenses casting glares that obscured parts of her hard eyes. Behind her, a young man with light, matted hair smirked, his rows of shark-like teeth peeking through his lips. The large man on her other side was also waiting expectantly, only his bulky arms twitching in impatience.

He turned his attention back down the road, his cold eyes hard in calculation. Itachi was dead. His life-long goal was finally completed. What is the next step, indeed? His teammates…no, these people were only tools, temporary co-ops to help accomplish his goal. They have their own places to go to, their own things to do.

The question was what would _he_ do?

"Sasuke? Are you listening to me?"

"Aw just shut up for one second, will ya, Karin?"

A resounding slosh of water filled the night air. "Shut _up_, Suigetsu! I am _not_ talking to you!"

Suigetsu's grin reappeared as his face reemerged. "Yeah, I think I know the difference between myself and your boyfriend."

"Listen up."

Their bickering was cut short as everyone's attention turned to the Uchiha.

"My goal is complete, so I have no further use of this team. And I'm sure you all have something to accomplish of your own." His eyes flicked towards the toothy smirk. "As for me, that will no longer be your concerns."

"But Sasuke! I-I don't have anywhere I _need_ to be…" Karin blurted.

Suigetsu snorted. "Anywhere but at Sasuke's side." Another smack resonated.

Like Juugo, Sasuke remained impassive. "Then go back to where I found you," he addressed simply to Karin.

"B-but…" She racked her brain desperately for an excuse. "Just let me come with you on your way to – wherever – and I'll just stop someplace on the way."

Sasuke sighed, his expression masking his annoyance."Fine." Without further discussion on her matter, he cast a glance at Juugo. "And you?"

The large man blinked. "I will wander wherever I please," he finally stated, stroking a small bird that landed on his broad shoulder.

Sasuke nodded. Then, with a smooth shift of his coal eyes, he gazed at Suigetsu.

"I suppose I'll tag along."

He raised a brow as Karin shrieked in shock.

"W-W-What do you mean, you're coming?! Don't you have to do something? _Anything_?!!" Karin cried desperately.

"Sure I do. I'm just doing what you're doing: dropping by someplace on the way," he said. "At least _my_ intentions are clear," he added with a sneer.

As Karin continued her shrieks and rants, Sasuke frowned. "Do you even know where I am going?"

Suigetsu shrugged. "Doesn't matter where I am so long as I get it done."

With a small grunt, Sasuke turned to walk down the road. "Alright, now that all this is established, let's go."

"But, just out of curiosity, where _are_ we going?"

He paused to cast side-long glance at the smirking nin. "To Konoha."

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**R&R pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the delayed update! I managed to find time between school work to update only one of my stories, so I had a hard time deciding which one... **

**I have to admit, I am not a SUPER naruto fanatic and have not seen all the episodes. If you see any flaw in characters or plot (other than my own), PLEASE feel free to point that out to me. And thanks for the reviews!!

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"Hello, everyone!"

The crowd sitting at the stools stopped to turn their heads in the direction of the entrance, where their pink-haired friend had just stepped through. A curiously delightful grin was planted on her face, catching everyone's notice.

"What happened, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

Sakura blinked innocently at her blonde friend, his words muffled by the noodles overflowing his mouth. "What do you mean?"

A scoff resounded in the ramen shop. "Riiiight, like we're going to believe that. I'll be placing _my_ bets on her finally getting asked out." Ino sneered. "And I'll also be betting that she had to threaten the 'lucky guy' to do it."

Sakura flushed angrily. "I _didn't_ get asked out, if you must know! And even if I did, I wouldn't have to resolve into threatening him, either!"

Ino toyed with a strand of her white-blonde locks nonchalantly. "Ah, of course, the poor thing is still at the top Konoha's most unwanted," she sighed dramatically. "Must be a new record."

"Mah, Ino, don't overdo it." Shikamaru eyed the throbbing vein on the pink nin's forehead.

Sakura smiled sweetly but hissed through her teeth. "Just because you [recently got one, doesn't mean you're suddenly Ms. Konoha. I'm sure even Shikamaru would start getting annoyed with you and all that arrogance."

At the seat right of Ino, Sai decided to finally join in the conversation. "So what happened to Ugly-san?"

Sakura turned beet red.

Shikamaru sighed as Ino howled with laughter. "Yes, 'Ugly-san', what_ did_ happen?"

"Sakura-chan, you don't need to worry. Even if no one wants to be with you, you'll always have me!" Naruto declared with a friendly grin.

Unfortunately, he was rewarded with a full powered, chakra-filled punch. Choji simply picked up his bowl as the body exploded the counter in front of him, never pausing in his feasting.

"Shut UP, Naruto!! And YOU!!" Sakura whipped around to glare ferociously at the blonde girl. "You can go to-!!"

"GAAAAHHHHHHH!! My SHOP!!"

Sakura blinked at the sobbing man. Looking around at the debris surrounding the terrified customers and the unconscious Naruto, she suddenly blushed. "I-I-I'm sooo sorry! I-I'll get this fixed right away!" she cried, bowing fervently in apology.

A hand on her shoulder stopped the flustered nin as she was about to get a broom.

"Don't bother. Just leave this mess to us."

Ino shrieked in shock as Sakura's brows shot up at the spiky-haired boy. "Shikamaru…"

He shrugged indifferently. "You should be heading back to the hospital. Besides, Ino started it, so I guess it's only fair."

"SHIKAMARU!! I am _NOT_ going to be cleaning _her_ mess!" Ino screeched indignantly.

"How troublesome..." He sighed. "Fine, I'll help you." He ignored her suddenly touched expression. "Sai, you can escort Sakura." He clamped a hand over Ino's mouth as she was about to remark. "And Choji...well, just keep an eye on Naruto over there."

When Ino finally relented, Sakura nodded. "Thanks, you guys."

Ino called out from the entrance tresses as the two teammates. "Watch it, Forehead. I'm keeping my eyes on you in case you try to-"

They watched her get yanked back in, as a certain genius began to lecture her about a few things…

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"So, Ugly-san–" 

"It's Sakura."

Sai ignored her growl. "What was it you were so happy about before Ino…"

Sakura's face suddenly lit up as a small smile graced her lips. "Ah, that…you know, Ino wasn't entirely wrong…" She coughed nervously when Sai merely blinked at her confusedly. "Well, I-I, err, met this guy, on my way out of the hospital…"

Sai quirked a brow. "You_ met_ him…?"

She sighed. "Okay, so I ran into him and caused all of my stuff to fly everywhere…" She trailed off with incoherent mutters. "But he helped me pick them up, and when there was only one paper left, our hands touched and –oooh!" she squealed, "it was like a movie! He was pretty good-looking, and he asked me for my name and…"

She realized that he had stopped walking and saw that he was deep in thought. Her eyes widened in understanding and blushed. "Oh, sorry, this is probably something you wouldn't be interested in…ooooh, I should've went to Hinata or TenTen instead." She giggled nervously. "I'm sorry, Sai– "

A cool fingertip pressed against her lips, abruptly cutting her off. With wide eyes, she blinked in surprise when she found his coal eyes staring inches away from her. His face retained his usual impassiveness, but she swore she saw some distraught in his eyes.

They were so much like _his_…

She shuddered and tried to push away the memories. It seemed like an eternity before his gaze released hers, shattering the tense atmosphere. She didn't realize that she had been holding her breath until his finger left her lips.

The silence broke when he sighed in relief. "Ah, the hag finally stops." He straightened himself away from her with a cheerful smile, and turned to start crossing the bridge.

Sakura's voice stopped him. "Sai..."

"Hm?"

"I AM _NOT_ A HAG!!!"

She furiously marched across the bridge, leaving behind her teammate to peel his face off the ground. She suddenly stopped and, heaving a frustrated sigh, turned back around towards where he was recollecting himself.

"Well? Are you coming or not?"

Sai paused amidst wiping his chin to look up. Hands on hip, the pink-haired girl reluctantly held out her hand for him, her head turned to the side in an attempt to swallow her pride.

He chuckled and gripped her hand as she helped him up. "Honestly, I don't think men find violent women attractive."

Sakura scoffed. "Well, I would say you have a lot to work on about some common sense. You're lucky that I'm a nurse, or I would've left you there to die."

He laughed with a nod of agreement, and Sakura couldn't help but giggle along with him. It was a rare moment these days to share a good laugh with someone, and she began to feel like her child-like self again, her, Naruto, and…

Her smile faded when she realized that Sai had suddenly stopped. She was taken aback by his shocked expression directed at something behind her, and she slowly turned around to see what the problem was.

The breath was rushed out of her.

Walking towards the open gates of Konoha came three figures. The wind billowed against the edges of their cloaks, and their hoods were thrown back to reveal distinct faces. The person in the middle, his aura screaming authority, finally came to a slow halt, raven hair drifting across obsidian eyes.

Sakura was petrified. She sensed that Sai now, too, had his gaze on her, but her state of mind was still unable to register what was right before her.

_It couldn't be. She had to be dreaming…_

Her reverie was instantly shattered the moment his lips moved, his voice ringing clear in the distance.

"I'm back."

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**I dunno. I think this was a pretty lame chapter...(I'm SORRY!!) But I really wanted to update. So PLEASE REVIEW!!! I need some motivation here!**


	3. Chapter 3

**  
Hey! It's been awhile, ya? Er..ahem...sorry about that. I had decided to take a bit of time off to update myself on the manga series, just so I know what's going on so far. So I'm sorry if I've made you all angry. But here it is! The really short continuation of "Return"! Enjoy!**

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It seemed that an eternity had passed. Seriously. Although she was not registering anything that was going on, she was conscience enough to know that the whole time since he had spoken, she had been gaping like a fish out of water.

It didn't help that she could also feel Sai's gaze on her rigid form, almost piercing through her. Why he was staring at her so intensely, she didn't know, but a suddenly unexpected voice shattered her wandering thoughts.

"Ah, look what we have here! It's that little kunoichi of yours, isn't it, Sasuke?" Suigetsu exclaimed with a grin. He had the gall to look as if he hadn't expected to run into them. She didn't even have time to react before the other companion suddenly shrieked.

"What do you mean, 'that kunoichi of yours'?! That _shrimp_ doesn't mean anything to Sasuke!" Karin spat.

Sakura bristled. "What the hell would _that_ mean?"

The dark-haired girl sneered, adjusting her glasses upon the bridge of her petite nose; an action _way_ too similar to Kabuto's. "What do you think, Sasuke's _ex_-teammate?"

Everyone else seemed to disappear, leaving the two girls' alone in their silent feud. The atmosphere seemed to charge with jealous fury. Sakura's fists clenched, prepared to pound the four-eyes's face into the ground, when a hand captured her wrist.

"Sakura, we should inform the others," Sai murmured.

Her head snapped defiantly to face him, and she glared into his dark eyes, their mirthless depths imploring for her cooperation. Finally, she reluctantly nodded; as pleased as she was that Sasuke was back, it still struck suspicion at this unexpected visit. _Dangerously_ suspicious.

"Leaving so soon?"

The two abruptly froze as Sasuke suddenly appeared behind them. Slowly, they turned their heads to face over their shoulders. Sasuke stood coolly over their severe observations for a few moments before uncrossing his arms. They tensed suddenly when he placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. In tantalizing movements, he leisurely drew out his katana, the blade catching the light and momentarily blinding them, and finally faced its tip at Sai.

Sasuke's emotionless voice cut through the air. "And just how long do plan to stay like that?"

Sakura frowned in confusion, when she felt a hand squeeze her own. She looked down and noticed that Sai had not lost his hold on her. Sasuke's eyes flashed towards her as she faced ducked her head to hide a blush, but his face retained its stone-like expression.

Not seeming to notice Sakura's attempt to slip away, Sai tipped his head slightly in innocence as he kept a cool gaze on the intruder. "What does it matter to you?"

Sasuke said nothing. Feeling slightly perturbed by the unknown situation, Sakura shifted wary eyes between the two. She had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was, Sasuke definitely did not take it into liking. Suddenly Sakura was wrenched from her spot as Sai pulled her away from the shining streak that engraved itself to the floor where they had just been standing. Still adjoined, they landed on the middle of the bridge, with Sai crouched protectively in front of his partner, kunai in hand. Sakura tried to release her wrist to pull out weapons of her own, but Sai only tightened his hold.

"What are you doing? I need to defend myself, too, you know," she hissed.

Sai just shrugged. "Use those manly arms of yours."

A vein twitched. "Manly arms, you say? I'll show you manly, you bast–"

Her cursing was cut off by the harsh ring of clashing metals. Sasuke had suddenly appeared at their side, and Sai had only just managed to raise a kunai to block his attack. It didn't take much effort for the missing-nin to slice through. The two partners leaped away again as his sword made another deadly arc.

"What in the world did you do?" Sakura hissed with a harsh glare at Sai.

But he did not even heed her words. "Oh," he muttered to himself in genuine surprise, "he's serious."

Startled, she looked back towards the swordsman. His coal black eyes were narrowed in annoyance, his face sculpted in a dark frown. Slowly, he sheathed his weapon and straightened to look down on them from an arrogant tilt of the chin. Something was telling her that she should look away, but she found that she could not stop gazing at his handsome form. After all, he was her first love.

A shadow of black suddenly blocked her vision, and she blinked up in surprise. "That was a close one," Sai chuckled. "I suppose you forgot that he can fight us with his sharingan."

It was true. She _had_ forgotten. She was so choked up in seeing him again that she had forgotten that he still possessed the thing that kept her from looking at him at all. She clenched her teeth as she cursed herself for her stupidity. "Thanks, Sai-kun."

Suddenly, she gasped as his form began to ripple. Twisting and shrinking, her partner began to liquefy, and his grasp on her wrist began to turn into an ominous green flame. With a yelp, she jumped away from the clawing embers. The air around her gradually darkened as the sun was swallowed by darkness. Everyone disappeared, and Sakura found herself alone in an empty abyss. Eyes wide in fear, she stared at the pair of crimson eyes that bore mercilessly upon her.

"I've caught you, _Sakura_."

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**...R&R please...**


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